Runaways
by KyrieEleisonElise
Summary: Nagisa, Karma, Gakushu and Kayano are four very different kids, who all end up running away from home for their own reasons, and meeting each other. Will they be able to find happiness, or will they be unable to escape their pasts?
1. Chapter 1

**This story is sort of crack-ish, over emotional sappy bullshit review if I should continue. Also, most of the characters have been aged down for the story so there wont be romance unless I write a sequel**

* * *

"You look so beautiful, Nagisa-Chan." Hiromei cooed, as she tied a black bow in Nagisa's long blue hair. The delusional woman didn't notice the misery in her son's eyes, the way he subtly flinched away from her touch.

Nagisa hated this- playing dress up. His mother had forced him to wear girl's clothes for as long as he could remember, when he was really little, he didn't mind and actually found it fun, but now he was twelve years old, and being forced into girl's clothes made him feel sick. But he dare not defy her, or else she'd snap.

Nagisa constantly lived in fear of his mother. For her, he suffered the humiliation of leaving the house in girl's clothes, the bullying at school for looking like a girl, dieting to make sure his frame stayed slender and feminine. All the ribbons and frills felt like they were crushing him, the long hair felt like a crown of thorns. He was constantly self conscious.

"You're lucky you have such a kind mother like me to teach you how to be a fashionable young lady, Nagisa. I never had that growing up." Hiromei said, putting her hands around Nagisa, and gazing at his reflection in the mirror- He was wearing a mid-length black dress with a ruffled skirt and knee-length socks. The boy turned away, not wanting to see himself like this. His mother ran a hand through his hair.

"Remember the visit to the doctor we took?" She said to Nagisa.

"Yes?" Nagisa said, a little surprised she was bringing that up now; Hiromi had brought Nagisa to a posh Doctor from out of town. She had forced him to wear a blouse and skirt too, he was just thankful nobody he knew saw him. Nagisa didn't know why he had been taken there- he wasn't sick or anything. The doctor just asked him a lot of questions about gender.

 _Do you want to be a girl, Nagisa? Have you always felt like a girl?_

Nagisa had never wanted to be a girl, but his mother was sat right in the office with them, he didn't want to make her angry, so he told the doctor _Yes, I do want to be a girl._ He wasn't sure why he had that meeting, and his mother wouldn't explain. The doctor didn't give him any medicine or anything, just took notes.

"Well, you're gender reassignment treatment was approved, starting tomorrow, you're going to be getting some very special pills that will stop you from getting to big, and your voice from getting deeper- all that disgusting man stuff." Hiromi simpered sounding delighted. Nagisa's stomach plummeted with dread, despite not fully understanding.

"G- Gender reassignment?" The bluenette whimpered.

"Yes! You'll become a real girl just like we've always wanted." Hiromei said, a big wide smile on her face. She didn't notice the tears forming in Nagisa's eyes.

 _No! No! No! She can't turn me into something I'm not! Something I don't want to be! Please!_

That night, after the torture of the dress-up game was over, Nagisa was sent to bed. He hadn't spoke a word since his Mother had told him the news. He lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Silent tears streaming down his face.

 _His mother was going to change his body. There was nothing he could do!_

 _No! Enough was enough._

With a strange resolve that he had never felt before, Nagisa jumped out of bed and started packing his bag- Money, clothes, lighter, food, Frantically, he ran around the room grabbing everything.

Finally, he stopped, and caught sight of himself in the mirror- Face blushed, and long blue hair down to his waist. As Quick as he could, Nagisa grabbed the scissors of the shelf and snipped away at his hair until it was up to his chin.

He smiled at his own reflection, and picked up the long strands of chopped of hair from the floor, and threw them out of the window into the night, before climbing out himself and leaving. He left a small note;

 _I can't be what you want me to be, so I wont be here at all._

* * *

"I'm leaving now. I'll be back on Moday." Gakushu said to his father as he walked out the front door. The man didn't look up from his computer screen.

"Isn't your bag too big just for a weekend trip to a classmate's country house?" The Chairman said, without really paying any attention. The blond grinned at him.

"Better to be safe than sorry, sir." He said, before stepping out of the front door and into the street, heavy black bag on his back. He resisted the urge to cheer as he walked to the bus stop.

 _He'd done it! He'd finally ran away!_

His father thought he was away for the weekend, so he had at least a three day head start before the man came looking for him. Plus, he had a few other tricks up his sleeve too, to make sure he was never found by his father again. He walked away without looking back- Finally. Finally he was free of that house and his father.

Gakuho Asano was a very clever man, escaping from him wasn't something that could be done on a whim. This plan had been done over a few weeks when Gakushu had first decided to run away;

It was after he had done badly on a test- not just bad- terrible. He had come third. _Third._

Walking home that day, he knew his father would be furious in his own icy cold way. The man would never hit Gakushu (In fact, for as long as the boy could remember, his father avoided any kind of physical contact with him all together. He remembered trying to hold his hand once when he was little, and the man pulled a way as if he'd touched something disgusting) but he'd find some way of punishing him.

Like when he was seven, and Gakushu's football team had lost the final. When he had arrived home, the Chairman had been sitting there with the family cat in his lap, a disappointed expression on his face.

 _"Your too weak. Have you already resigned yourself to the life of a looser. You don't have enough drive to win."_

 _"That's not true!" Gakushu had shouted back, his father gave him a deadly smile._

 _"Really? those who are truly strong will do anything to win. Anything. Can you do that?"_

 _"Yes!"_

 _The Chairman walked over to him, still holding the pet in his arms. "If you'll do anything, then kill this cat."_

 _Asano stared at him, Amethyst eyes wide. That had to be a joke! But the Chairman never told jokes. And this wasn't funny. He reached out and thought about it for a moment. If he killed Mittens, would he have his father's approval? But they'd had the cat since he'd been born, it looked at him with clueless amber eyes, and he just couldn't._

 _The Chairman glared at him, and in one movement, grabbed the cat by the neck. There was a screech, a snap and then silence. Mittens flopped down, dead. "You really are pathetic." His father said, to a horrified Gakushu._

When he arrived home after coming third in the test though, the punishment had been much, much worse... He shook his head not wanting to think about it.

He arrived at the station, and walked into the small disabled bathroom, following the route that was the blind-spot to all the cameras. Nobody would know he had been here. He pulled out a bottle of cheap light brown hair dye, and followed the instructions.

A few minutes later, he washed it off in the sink and gazed at his reflection; His previously strawberry-blond sort-of-ginger hair was now an non-recognizable dirty blonde color. He pulled out some brown eye contacts, and placed them over his pupils, disguising his amethyst eyes- The eyes that he had inherited from his father, his most prominent feature.

He stepped out of the station bathroom a different person.

* * *

Akari washed the dye off her hair in the sink, then looked up. A green haired girl with golden eyes stared back at her. She was almost unrecognizable without her long flowing black hair.

She had finished her work, pretty soon she'd officially be 'dead' She pulled the drip out her arm that had slowly been draining her blood into a red bucket for the past few hours, and bandaged the small incision in her arm.

She still had half an hour left before she had to leave. Akari was currently in her brother-in-law's house, planting the evidence so that he would be charged for her murder after she vanished. She pulled out a few strands of her long black hair and left them on the floor, spilled the huge bucket of blood, and cleaned it, very badly so there was still lot's ov evidence left. She smeared it through the halls of the house so it looked like she had been dragged. She had already left a few specks of blood and hair in Kotarō Yanagisawa's car. He'd be arrested within a week.

Why was she doing this? because Yanagisawa had killer her sister and got away with it; Akari had always been close to her elder sister Aguri. Aguri could be ditzy, but she was always caring and trying her hardest. She dreamed of being a teacher.

But their parents had married her of to some rich scientist, Yanagisawa, just so the Yukimura family could become richer. Yanagisawa treated her terribly; He'd cheat on her, beat her, and make her work long hours in the most dangerous parts of his lab.

Akari _hated_ him, but she was only a child and felt powerless to do anything, and Aguri always insisted that she was okay. But then tragedy struck; There was an explosion at the lab, and Aguri was killed, all because Yanagisawa made her work there.

Akari was heart broken, but pretty soon, her grief turned to anger. She would have her _revenge_ against Yanagisawa for killing her sister. But _just_ killing him wasn't good enough, he had to loose everything first; His reputation, his freedom, his fortune. Everything.

She almost felt bad for her parents, who would be loosing two daughters now, but she'd never forgive them for sacrificing Aguri.

Akari finished up creating the crime-scene, then picked up her bag to leave, taking another look at the fake ID she had made. From now on, she would be Kaede Kayano.

* * *

Karma's amber eyes stared at the clock. It was 4:am, and it had officially been one week since he'd spoken to another person, besides the cashier at the supermarket. His parents had been away for months, they texted occasionally and never called, he'd been suspended from school again for fighting, and everyone in his neighborhood avoided him because of his reputation.

He spent his time reading manga, playing video games, wandering around the house and his town, doing whatever the hell he wanted, telling himself he liked the freedom and that he wasn't ever lonely. He was thirteen, after all, too old to get upset because his parents weren't there. Besides. He was used to it.

But sometimes he felt so insignificant, like he could vanish and nobody would was so bored of the same four walls, and the same neighborhood, the same stupid people.

Maybe that was why, one day, out of the blue he packed a bag and all his money and walked out the door to the train station.

 _Maybe some traveling would be fun. Not like anybodies going to miss me anyway._

* * *

 ** _So Nagisa's running away to escape forced gender reassignment, Asano's running away to escape his crazy father, kayano's running away to frame somebody for her murder (lol, Gone girl) and Karma's running away because he knows nobody will miss him (which i personally think is most tragic)_**

 ** _What do you think of the characters and their situations so far.. should I continue? let me know._**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the reviews! Especially TheRoseShadow21 for all the plot ideas, they were a big help.**

 **Review what you think of the story and characters ect if you think I should continue**

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The torrential rain poured from the heavens, soaking the ground and flooding the roads. Nagisa could here it violently battering against the top of the old stone bride he was hiding under, he could feel the icy puddles lapping against his shoes.

Until this day, he had never realized just how much he hated the rain. Even with his hood wrapped up around himself like a cocoon he still couldn't escape it. Worst of all, all the trains were cancelled and the shops were shut, he had left home on Friday, it was now Monday and he already had nowhere to go.

He shivered, flinching when a loud clap of thunder reverberated through the sky. But at least he was free.

Another clap of lightening. Nagisa flinched again. He felt a tap on his shoulder- he turned around suddenly, and saw a boy with amber eyes and an expensive looking black coat. He looked to be a couple of years older than Nagisa. He grinned.

"You're afraid of the thunder, right?" The boy said. He looked to be a few years older than Nagisa. The blunette blushed in embarrassment.

"I'm not!" He said, indignant. But there was another particularly loud thunder clap, and he almost jumped out of his skin. The other boy raised an eyebrow. "W- Well maybe a little."

"Why's a elementary school kid like you out so late anyway?" The Amber-eyed boy asked, cocking his head to the side. "Are you lost or something?"

"I'm in middle school!" Nagisa snapped- he was sick of people thinking he was still child! "I'm 12!"

"No way are you only a year younger than me." The other boy chuckled. He caught Nagisa's blue eyes glaring at him. "Oh, don't be so pissed off, it's not my fault your tiny- the name's Karma by the way."

He extended he hand. The Bluenette stared at it, still feeling a little offended, but after three days on the run, he was lonely.

"I'm Nagisa." He replied, taking the hand and shaking it. Karma's eyes narrowed for a moment.

"Shiota, right? your hair was much longer on the missing posters." The red head said. Nagisa's eyes widened, his mouth was agape.

"H- how?"

"Kid, your all over the news, how could I _not_ recognize you." Karma laughed, amused. "Don't worry, the reward money isn't enticing enough for me to turn you in. You _did_ run away, didn't you?"

Nagisa could only nod. Three days and already people were recognising him. This really wasn't good. Before he had a chance to say anything else, another hooded figure dashed under the bridge. Judging by it's size, it was a teenager.

"Oh look, another runaway has come to join us~" Karma said brightly, grinning. The new figure pulled turned to Karma, glaring at him with a pair of dull brown eyes that were a shade darker than his hair.

"Excuse me?" He said, looking Karma and Nagisa up and down with distaste, his lips curled into a sneer. Nagisa unconsciously backed away. Both Karma and this new boy seemed to have a dangerous aura about them somehow. And he felt unsettled that Karma knew who he was. Part of him wanted to run.

"Who else but runaway kids would be huddling under a bridge in the middle of the night?" the red haired boy said, returning the blond boy's look of distaste with a taunting grin as he analysed him. "And Judging by your expensive clothes, your a spoiled rich brat who ran away because he couldn't get his own way. Right?"

The brown eyed boy's glare intensified. "Does pretending your smart make you feel validated?" He said, his tone acidic. "Well, I suppose the dregs of society like you have to find meaning in their life somehow."

Karma rolled his eyes. "Definitely a spoiled rich boy. Maybe Daddy should buy you a new attitude."

There was a flash of rage in the blond's expression. He went to raise his fist, but without even thinking, Nagisa rushed forward and grabbed him. He could feel this boy was far stronger than he was.

"Please." The Bluenette said. "Don't fight."

 _Why was he stuck mediating between these two volatile youths?_ Nagisa read the atmosphere, he could see that Karma was bored and frustrated and itching to start a fight, while the other boy was ready to snap at the smallest provocation.

"Stay out the way, you gormless little twerp." The blond hissed, pulling his hand out of Nagisa's grip. His look was so piercing it made Nagisa feel as though he might melt into the floor. But the brown eyed boy turned away from Karma never the less.

"So, you're the type that insults others to make yourself feel better about being a stuck up little brat?" The Red head said. Nagisa resisted the urge to face-palm. The blond turned to retort, but suddenly, there was the sound of a gargled high-pitch scream, and a splash.

All three boy's heads snapped over in the direction of the river.

" _Help! Help!"_ A high-pitch voice desperately called out. Through the sheet of rain, Nagisa could just about make out a small figure splashing in the swollen river. Without even thinking about it, he left the safety of the bridge and ran over, he was vaguely aware that the other two boys had done the same.

They reached the river in mere seconds, Nagisa a little behind the other two. The ground was drenched, and their feet sunk into the water-saturated mud- There was no sign of the drowning figure for a moment, then suddenly, a pale hand emerged from under the water for a brief moment before being dragged back under.

Karma was the first to dive into action- literally. He threw of his bag onto the ground and jumped into the water. He felt as if he'd jumped into acid- it was so cold it was intensely painful. He could feel his muscles lock and his body cry out in protest as he tried to grab for the drowning person. It was impossible to see, the heavy rain was almost blinding. He hand clasped around what felt like a small arm.

"Idiot." the blond hissed, dropping his own bag and coat to the floor. He grabbed a long branch from a tree that had fallen in the storm, and waded into the water until it was waist deep. The current was so high, he was nearly swept away, his feet slipping on the smooth stone beneath the water. He extended his arm out, reaching the stick out over to Karma, who had grabbed the drowning person but was struggling to swim with them back to shore. "Grab on!"

Without even thinking about it, Karma complied, wrapping his hand tightly around the branch his expression contorted into one of grim determination, so different from his teasing grin minutes earlier. Under his arm Nagisa could make out a pale faced person.

 _Please let them be alive!_

Suddenly, there was a strong gust of wind, the blond boy stumbled, and almost slipped over, but Nagisa grabbed him from the shore without even thinking about it, his hands clasping around the brown eyed boy's shirt.

It felt surreal and urgent at the same time, Nagisa was suddenly aware that three people could very easily drown if let go, his knuckles turned white as he gripped onto the side for dear life.

"T- Try not to f-fall over!" Karma yelled at the blond haired boy. His comment probably would of been more biting if he wasn't shivering so hard he was stuttering.

"Well d-don't j-just float there like a damn sponge. Swim towards me!" The blond retorted, he was shivering also. Nagisa could feel his arm shaking were he had grabbed him. The blunette pulled with all his might, refusing to let go.

 _Please God, I know I'm useless but don't let me mess this up!_

The blond boy managed to pull Karma and the small person he'd rescued back to shore using the stick, his face turning red with the effort. But somehow, they made it- Karma crawled out of the water while Nagisa and Asano helped him drag out the body.

The drowning person was small and deathly pale, and far too still- they weren't even shivering. Up close, Nagisa could see that she was a little girl who looked even younger than him, long green hair fanned out around her face.

For one terrible moment, Nagisa thought she was dead. But then, all of a sudden, she started coughing, golden eyes snapped open, and she started shivering violently. Instinctively, the blunette crouched down next to her, and helped her sit up so she could breath easier. Her clothes were sodden through, and her skin was icy cold to the touch.

"Are you okay?" Nagisa asked- it felt like such a lame question to ask someone who was clearly not alright at all and had nearly drowned, but he sort of just said it automatically.

"I'm fine." The girl croaked out, looking at Nagisa properly for the first time. For a moment when their eyes met, she seemed familiar to him, but he dismissed the strange sense of de-ja-vu.

"How did you manage to fall in the river?" The Blond boy scolded, he was crouched down in front of them, and appeared to be inspecting the girl for damage. The green haired girl sniffed.

"I was j-just walking down by the r-r-river- and there was a big gust of wind- and it was muddy- and I slipped, she said through chattering teeth.

"Idiot- what were you thinking? doing something so dangerous. If we hadn't been here you'd be dead." The blond boy scolded, although he was handing her a blanket that he had pulled out from his bag.

"S-Sorry."The girl muttered, her golden eyes looking down at her lap.

"Don't be such a hardass,blondie she nearly drowned." Karma said, rolling his eyes. He pulled out an expensive-looking iphone from his pocket. Nagisa suddenly realised that this drowning girl had somehow got the three of them actually working together when they'd been about to fight moments earlier. "I'll call your parents, kid- what's your number?"

"N- No!" The girl cried out suddenly, sitting up even straighter, and making herself cough in the process. She looked alarmed. "Don't call anyone, I'm fine."

"No you aren't." The blond boy said, rolling his eyes. Nagisa couldn't help but agree with him.

"Then tell me your address and we'll walk you home if you're so worried about getting into trouble or whatever." Karma said, with a shrug. Nagisa couldn't help but envy his casual confidence- he seemed to always know what to say, he had been the first of the three of them to jump into action. He seemed like the type of boy who could do anything he wanted to do with ease.

"I can't." The girl said, shaking her head. Tears formed in her eyes. "I was running away! I don't want to go home!"

"Someone who lets themselves nearly drown shouldn't be running away from home." The blond boy said wryly. The girl glared at him. "Go home before you actually do get yourself killed."

"I hate to admit it, but blondie's right, you look about ready to drop dead from hypothermia." Karma said, a smile was on his face despite his harsh words. The girl pouted. Once again, Nagisa found himself lost for words, he felt like a useless spare part.

"I'm more likely to die if I go home than if I stay away!" The green-haired girl declared, raising her voice, (although it still sounded croaky and swore). She rolled up her sleeve, to reveal a small but deep-looking gash on her arm. "My mother left my entire inheritance to me. My father has hated me ever since. First he started telling me I was unwanted- then he started hurting me- Now, he wants to kill me and take the inheritance for himself- "

She finished of her story by bursting into a fresh fit of tears. Nagisa felt his heart break for her.

"You need to go to the police!" Nagisa cried out, but the girl shook her head.

"My Dad's a judge. He's got his hand's in everyone's pockets. He'll kill me before they believe me. I'm trapped." The girl sniffled. Everyone was quiet after that, even Karma didn't know what to say. They didn't know what the right thing to do was. In the end, it was the blond boy who broke the silence.

"I saw a hut on the mountain not far away. It should give us some shelter for the storm, at least." The blond said, standing up suddenly- Nagisa was surprised; he seemed the most against not getting the girl to go home. Maybe something about her story had resonated with him? the blond picked up his bag. "You can walk that far at least."

The green haired girl's face split into a grin, she leaned on Nagisa and pulled herself up. "Thank you!" She said with a bright smile, all traces of tears dissapeared of her face. She was still shivering, Nagisa himself felt freezing out in the rain, he had no idea how cold she must be after falling into the river (and Karma for that matter). She was wearing an oversize backpack.

"Okay- mountain hut it is. Lead the way, Blondie." Karma said. His raid hair was soaked and sticking to his face but he didn't seem to care.

"Stop it with that stupid nickname- " The blond boy snapped. the Red head laughed, unfazed.

"It's not my fault you're rude and haven't introduced yourself yet." karma said in a singsong voice. He held a hand out for the green-haired girl who took it. She still seemed a little weak.

".. Shun Aonuma." The Blond replied. Something about the way he said it caught Nagisa's attention- There was a hesitancy in his voice that made the blunette think that 'Shun' was lying. "And what's your name?"

"You can call me Karma," The Red head said, as they made their way the the hut.

"And I'm Kaede Kayano!" The small green haired girl said, with a big grin.

"My Name's Nagisa." The Bluentte said, after a pause- Karma already knew his name so there was no point lying about it now. He could see the wooden hut getting closer and closer.

This entire situation was crazy, but despite the rain, walking with these three other runaways made Nagisa's heart feel warm for the first time since he ran away.

* * *

 **I did Kayano drowning and getting saved because I thought there needed to be something kind of big to bring these four kids together.**

 **review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three boiiss.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows! Really makes me happy and motivates me to get out there and write!**

* * *

Officer Karasuma left the house, a worried scowl on his face.  
A third child had gone missing within four days in this usually quiet town of Kunugigaoka. The bumbling officers here weren't used to dealing with such serious crimes, so officer Karasuma had been called up from the big city to take care of it.

The first had been Akari Yukimura, eleven years old. She had been reported Friday night after she didn't return home from school.  
She was a former child star, Karasuma vaguely recognised her from a string of kids movies she'd starred in.  
When he arrived at her parents house after getting the call-in, it was immaculate, and both her parents were impeccably dressed, their hair styled, Mrs Yukimura's makeup flawless.  
It almost made Karasuma think that the two of them had cleaned theplace and got dressed up before reporting their missing daughter.  
But despite their absurd obsession with appearances, their fear for their missing daughter seemed genuine.

"We- we just can't loose Akari. She's all we have left.. And so soon after loosing our eldest daughter, Aguri." Mrs Yukimura whined, before bursting into a fit of delicate sobs. Her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Please." He said to the officer, his own eyes welling up with tears. "Please find our daughter."

"I will do everything I can." Karasuma said- and he meant it. He looked down at Akari's picture; Glossy black hair, golden eyes, wide smile. She was a cute kid. So innocent and young.  
She needed to be back with her family were she belonged.

The second child to go missing was phoned in Saturday night. Nagisa Shiota, twelve years old.  
Karasuma was used to mothers being distraught when their child went missing, but nothing could of prepared him for Hiromei Shiota;  
As soon as he and the other officers walked through the door, she dived at their feet, her chest wracked with horrible retching sobs.

"P- please! You have to find my daughter! Please!" She begged, tears streaming down her face as she clawed at Karasuma's trouser leg.  
It took half an hour to calm her down enough for her to tell them the details.

"Nagisa... She wasn't in her room this morning.. There was a note left. But it _must_ of been planted by the kidnapper! My Nagisa would never willingly leave me!" She insisted, taking in a shuddering breath. "If she _dared_..."

"M'am, can I have a picture please?" The black haired officer asked gently, trying to avoid riling her up again. Hiromei nodded, and brought in a box- it was full of countless pictures of a child with long waist-length blue hair, standing in the same part of the house with different outfits on.  
In every picture, there was a desperate sort of misery evident in the child's blue eyes.

"My Nagisa- isn't she beautiful?" Hiromei had said, lips curling up into a twisted smile.  
It was only when Karasuma looked up Nagisa Shiota'a profile he realised the child was a boy. _Why was he referred to as female. Was it his own choice, or something his mother had forced on him?_

Over the next day, all Karasuma could do for the two missing children was organise fruitless search parties, get their pictures out into the media, and try and build a profile to try and understand what could of happened to them;  
Nagisa was a timid kid with only a handful of friends. He was often teased for looking like a girl, and he hid his long hair under a hat.  
His mother had been described by all that knew her as ' _controlling_ ' and ' _neurotic_ '. Karasuma had no doubt Nagisa was a run-away (he had left a note, after all). Now he just had to find him.

Akari, on the other hand, he was less certain about; She was popular at school, and her home-life seemed stable, she seemed to have come to terms with her sister's death rather quickly. No clothes bags were missing from her room, she just went to school and never came home. Her fame made Karasuma worry- could it be a rabid fan had taken her? Or someone closer to home?

The last missing child was called in early that Monday morning- Gakushuu Asano, twelve years old, nearly thirteen.  
Karasuma arrived at his house as quickly as he could, and was greeted by the door by his father.

"Welcome, inspector. Please- come to my office." The man said. His name was Gakuhou Asano, famed as the ruthless chairman of Kunugigoaka academy. Karasuma was already suspicious- this didn't seem like a man who had lost a child.

"It seems my son is more foolish than I thought. I don't know what possessed him to play this little game, but I don't intend to indulge him." The Chairman said, as he sat behind his desk. There was a stepford smile on his face, but Karasuma could clearly see the anger behind his eyes. This man wasn't worried about his child- _he was furious!_

"Do you know when your son might of left for the last time?"

"Friday night. He disguised his little tryst as a trip with friends, so he's had the weekend to get as far away as he can." Gakuhou said, his jaw clenching. "I tracked his phone, but he's discarded of it. He has taken one of my credit cards, but he has yet to use it."  
It was clear this man hated having to ask the police for help in finding his missing son. He would probably prefer to drag the boy back himself.

"Kids his age usually don't go far- is there any close family members or friends that he could be hiding out at?" The inspector asked.

"I assure you, my son will not be doing that." The Chairman said, quickly.

"Either way, could we have a picture of him? The best way to find someone is to utilise the media." Karasuma said, trying to remain professional despite the man's strange attitude.

"That's another little trick my son pulled before he left; He destroyed all recent pictures of himself in the house, and hacked into his school database to delete them of their as well." Gakuhou said, annoyance flashing in his eyes.

"He did what?" Karasuma startled. Hacking into school systems- what kind of twelve year old was this?

"No doubt he thought any sort of delay would aid his escape. But soon it will be of little consequence. I can easily procure pictures of him from other sources." The Chairman said.  
 _Escape? Was this man talking about his son or a prisoner?_

"One more question before I call this in." The detective said, black eyes meeting Gakuhou's cold purple orbs. "Do you have any idea why your son would choose to run away?"

The Chairman paused for a moment as if in thought, then a half smile grew on his face. "No idea."

Other officers arrived to scour for clues. Gakuho excused himself as he had to leave for work, most parents would take a day off if they lost a child, not him.

Karasuma left the house, his head swimming with thoughts of Akari, Nagisa and Gakushu. All three cases were strange in their own way, suddenly he got a call, immediately, he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Officer Karasuma? You were right when you thought Akari's late sister's finance had something to hide. There's traces of blood all over his place, get down here now." His subordinate, her voice rushed with adrenaline. Karasuma's eyes widened. He felt a spike of dread.. _Blood?_

Quickly, he ran to his car.

* * *

Nagisa woke up shivering in the crisp morning weather, the frosty winter sun streaming in from the cracked windows of the mountain hut.  
His body ached from being sat up all night, he felt as if he hadn't slept at all, only dozing for short intervals. He glanced around the room at the three other kids nested into the woodwork; Kayano was sat next to him, shivering in her sleep, while Karma was lounging on the floor in front of them, looking completely relaxed, as if he were slumbering on a luxurious bed instead of the cold hard floor of a derelict shack.

The blond boy, who claimed his name was Shun, sat away from them at the other side of the room, leaning against the wall, his head on his knee's, his hand still gripping tightly at his bag.

Nagisa couldn't tell if he were asleep or not.

It was hard to wrap his head around the fact this was currently his life; Sat freezing, almost at the mercy of the elements, away from society. Still. The cold was better than being smothered by his mother.  
Last night they'd all trooped up here, soaking wet and close to catching hypothermia. All four of them changed into spare clothes they kept in their bags. Karma wanted to build a fire, but Shun didn't want people to see the smoke. They argued for a while, before a silence set in, and the four of them sat around and attempted to sleep.

"Morning, Nagisa." Karma said from the floor, suddenly awake, breaking the silence. He grinned mischievously. "Bad night? You look like hell. Maybe the run-away life isn't your calling after all?"

The blue haired boy gave him a weak glare. "I'm fine." He replied. _Karma might be a little older, but he doesn't need to keep treating me like a kid who's got himself in too deep._  
Across the room, Shun shifted too, pulling his head up from his knees and wiping his hands over his eyes.

"Um- morning." Nagisa said, politely. He could feel strands of blue hair sticking up at odd angles from were he had slept on it. But over this weekend he'd slept in shop doorways and bus stops, he was used to it.  
Shun looked over at him with bloodshot brown eyes, looking at Nagisa as if he could see right through him.

"Morning." The blond replied after a pause.  
Karma sat up, looking around the room at the other three kids.

"So. What's the plan?"

"The plan is I'm leaving as soon as the trains are back on, and I don't much care what the rest of you three do." Shun snapped. Nagisa would accuse him of being cranky in the morning, but from what he'd seen the blond was pretty much cranky all the time.

"I guess... I'm going to do the same." The blue haired boy said. His entire escape was pretty much unplanned, and thinking too far into the future filled him with a sense of panic- what would his life be now?

"Terrible- you two aren't gentlemen at all." Karma said, with a lazy shake of his head, his amber eyes flicking over to Kayano's sleeping form. "So you're really going to leave this poor innocent little girl all alone when she has bad men after her, and all her food supply was soaked."  
Nagisa suddenly felt struck by guilt, even Shun seemed to falter, muttering a half-hearted.

"It's not as if it's my responsibility or anything."

The blue haired boy glanced at Kayano; She was so tiny and helpless, truly a child, with the world against her.

"Fine. I wont leave just yet, until I know she's taken care of." He decided, although he could hardly look after himself, let alone a younger child. The red head grinned at him approvingly, then turned towards Shun expectantly.

"What about you blondie? Are you abandoning a young innocent girl the the wolves?" Karma asked, smirking. Shun's glare intensified at the nickname.

"Fine. I'll stay to help her get set up. But so we're clear, I'm not doing it because you told me to! I'm doing it because it would be bothersome if the police find her and she pulls me in too." The blond said haughtily. As he spoke, Kayano shuffled slightly and opened her eyes. Her golden irises were blurry with sleep.

"Sleeping beauty finally wakes up." The red head said.

"I'm starving." She complained, as soon as she woke up. The girl had been carrying a big stash of food in her bag, but after it fell into the river with her, it was mostly inedible.

Karma grinned at her. "Don't worry. Me and Shun will go down the mountain and buy you some supplies." He said.

"I didn't agree to that!" The blond boy hissed. Kayano looked at the red haired boy and shook her head.

"I couldn't possibly let you do that- you've already done so much." She cried, sitting up straighter.

"Let your elders treat you." Karma said, as if he were an old man, not a teenage boy. He got up lazily off the floor and stretched like a cat after taking a nap. "Nagisa. There's missing posters of you everywhere, so for now you hold fort."

The blue haired boy could only nod, and watch as Karma pulled a reluctant Shun up off the floor. The red head was unpredictable, and harsh at times. But something about having him around made Nagisa feel suddenly safer.

* * *

"It's all the same. Just pick something." Karma complained. They'd been in this supermarket for fifteen minutes, with Shun scrutinising all the prices and all the ingredients of the food they were planning on buying.

"I'm making sure we're getting the best value for money! Do you know how much crap people put into food these days?" The blond said, calmly.

"I don't care." Karma yawned.

"Well I do. I'm paying for food that gives energy, not diabetes." Shun replied as he read the label on a package of muffins. The red head rolled his eyes; He had a pretty good grasp on the blond's personality already. He was definitely the perfectionist type, hardworking, control freak. Basically Karma's opposite. But still. He had a little more respect for the other boy after he'd helped him save Kayano's life.

Karma didn't believe in fate or destiny or any of that bullshit, but after running into those three other runaways, he couldn't help but feel he was meant to look out for them. Especially Nagisa and Kayano. The red head didn't exactly see himself as the type of person to help or protect others, but he didn't want to leave two kids all alone in the wilderness.  
The red head glanced over at the missing posters on the wall, and Nagisa's vacant eyes stared back at him; The boy on the picture looked so different from the real thing, his hair was longer, his expression sadder. Karma couldn't help but wonder what exactly had made him run away.

Nagisa's ' _missing_ ' flier was mostly over-shadowed by a huge poster devoted to the child-actress who had disappeared ' _Akari Yukimura_ '. She gave Karma a dazzling smile- Her picture was a model-shot. Her eyes were a little too big, her teeth too bright, her skin too flawless.

"That picture's so photo-shopped people wouldn't know the real Akari even if she was right in front of them." Karma joked to Shun. "Tragedy she's disappeared, but her getting all the media attention's pretty good for Nagisa."

"He can't compete with a celebrity." The blond said, finally deciding to drop the food into his basket. The small convenience store TV was blaring out Akari's story as well;  
 _'An arrest has been made in relation to the disappearance of child-star Akari Yukimura. The husband of her late sister is thought to be involved'_

"Too bad it looks like this case is nearly over." Karma commented, looking pointedly over at the small TV, were it was showing footage of the suspect being led away by the police, a blazer covering his head.

"It'll still be all over TV. The media loves dragging out tragedies, especially involving celebrities." Shun commented. His eyes were raking over the missing posters. 'Probably looking for his own' Karma thought, but there was no ' _Shun Aunoma'_ there.

"- _In other news, another child has been reported missing earlier this morning; twelve year old Gakushuu Asano. Last seen at his home in Kunugigoaka on Friday. We urge people to be vigilant and if they see anything, then call the hotline number_."

"Ehh- is there some kind of child-snatcher going around? I've never seen this many kids all go missing from the same little town." Karma commented, as a picture of the missing boy flashed on screen; Strawberry blond with violet eyes. The picture seemed like it was taken at some sort of sports event, the boy wasn't even looking at the camera. "You think they'd use a picture were you could see his face better?"  
Shun didn't turn to reply, but instead threw some things in the basket without checking the labels.

"Whatever. We have enough stuff so let's go. The quicker we give this to Kayano the quicker I can leave." The blond said, curtly.

"You changed your tune quickly." Karma commented, he narrowed his eyes at the picture on screen for a moment, before reaching forward and grabbing Shun by the chin scrutinising his face.

"What are you- ?" The blond cried, nearly dropping the basket.

"-It's not obvious at first, but I see it now. You're wearing colour contacts, _right?_ And your hair is dyed, right, _Shun_?" Karma said, his grin widening and his eyes sparking. "Or should I say- Gakushuu Asano."

The reaction was instant; The blond's eyes widened, and he turned to run. Karma was just as quick though, he quickly grabbed the other boy's wrist, preventing his escape.

"Relax, Gakushuu. I didn't turn Nagisa in, so I wont turn you in either. Unless you really piss me off that is." The red head added the last part with a cheeky grin. Shun- no, Gakushuu, stopped struggling against him.

"Don't say _that_ name so loud- " The blond hissed, eyes darting around the store fervently. The only other person there was the elderly cashier.

"What? Gakushu Asano? I shouldn't say that so loud?" Karma said, feigning ignorance. Asano pulled his arm out of of the red head's grasp, and put a hand over the other boy's mouth.

"Shut. Up." He said, threateningly. Karma just laughed and pulled the other boy's hand away.

"Your Dad's Gakuhou Asano, right? He was the Chairman at my school. Until I got expelled, that it." Karma said, snickering wickedly. "Now that I think about it, I think there was mention of a stuck-up 'prodigy' son."

Asano scowled at the mention of his father and that damn school of his. The one he was suppose to go to next year when he was old enough. He was glad he left before he became completely ensnared in that man's trap.

"If you turn me in, I'll make sure you regret it. That's a promise." Asano said, with such conviction that Karma knew he meant it. The blond walked past towards the cashier and paid using a card. The stuff didn't cost very much, and if it meant sorting things out quicker so he could leave, Asano didn't care about paying for Kayano. He had plenty of money, anyway.  
The red head raised an eyebrow as they left the shop together.

"You know when you steal your Dad's credit card to pay for things they can track it." Karma said notchantly.

"I know what I'm doing." Was Asano's blunt reply, effectively ending the conversation for the next few minutes.

As they neared the hill, Karma started talking again.

"So I know the Chairman ran his school like he was the goddamn _fuhrer_ or something, but was he really so bad you had to run away?" He asked, neither sympathy nor spite evident in his voice. Asano turned to look at him- his eyes were their true amethyst colour now- since he no longer had to hide his identity from Karma, he took the irritating things out as soon as they were on the outskirts of town.

"Mind your own business, okay?" He replied, with a fake smile on his face.

"Such a rude little boy." The red head tutted, although he was clearly beginning to get annoyed by Gakushuu's attitude. "And after your Daddy's put all that effort putting out missing posters to find his precious son."

At the mention of his father, Asano's fake grin cracked, a flare of anger flashed in his eyes. "And what about _you_ , Karma." He said the name as if it were an insult. "Were's your missing posters? Maybe nobody cares about you enough to put them up. It makes sense considering your attitude- ack!"

Karma cut Asano off by hitting him hard in the stomach, leaving him coughing. The other boy's callous words hurt him more than they thought they would. Because they were true.

Nobody has even noticed he hasn't been home in days. His parents have just been sending him the occasional text as always. If he died, his body would be long decomposed before anybody realised he was even missing.

Karma probably should of been prepared for Asano to retaliated by punching him in the face. The red head spat out a mouthful of blood- The other boy wasn't holding back.  
 _Good_.  
His own frustrated feelings were mounting, and he was itching for a fight.

"You have no idea what you just let yourself in for, blondie." Karma said, a feverently excited grin reaching his face. Forgetting all reason, the boys went at each other.

Karma won. That extra year of age, the extra inch or so of height gave him a slight advantage (That and he was a veteran scrapper), although he was sporting a few new bruises for his troubles.  
He had Asano on the ground, arm twisted behind him, the red head pressed a knee into his back.

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." The blond growled maliciously, frustration edging into his voice as he tried to get free. Karma dug his knee knee in harder.

"You might want to choose your words a little more carefully considering you're at my mercy." The red head said, with a triumphant grin. "Taking down prideful assholes like you is my specialty. So hurry up and beg me to let you go, so we can get back to Nagisa and Kayano, kay?"

"I don't care if I go back to them or not. Unlike some people, I'm not so desperate and lonely I have to play the role of protector just to feel wanted." Asano hissed out. His words made Karma feel as if the air had been knocked out of his lungs. The little brat was a silver-tongued devil, he knew exactly what to say to break through the red head's armor.

Gakushuu took advantage of Karma's shock, and wriggled out from under him, pushing the red head to the floor instead, grabbing him by the back of the neck.

"I'm not like you, Karma, I don't get attached to people. I throw them away as soon as they become an inconvenience. I don't waste time on things that don't benefit me." Asano said, although he sounded as if he were quoting somebody else, it was as if his words weren't his own. "I'm not at the mercy of my emotions."

"If you say that enough times you might start to believe it." Karma grunted from the floor. Asano opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly a blood curdling scream pierced the air.  
Both of them jolted up.

 _That was Kayano!_

* * *

"Sorry. I'm not so good at stuff like this." Nagisa said apologetically to Kayano. He was attempting to make a fire, but every time he managed to light the small bundle of sticks with his matches, the flames were quickly snuffed out by the wind.

"It's fine. I'm not even that cold anymore anyway, thanks for trying!" Kayano smiled, but the blunette could tell she was suppressing the urge to shiver.

"Sorry." He repeated, that familiar feeling of being useless returning. He was sure Shun or Karma would be able to do this. Those older boys were so capable compared to him.

"Stop that!" Kayano said, suddenly. Nagisa looked up at her. "Just because you can't make a fire doesn't mean you have to feel guilty or worthless or whatever! I can see it all over your face."

"It's just. I can't really do anything. I was never all that great in school, or at sports." Nagisa said, with a sad defeated smile on his face. He spoke the words with resignation, as if he'd already accepted them as fact. "I should probably warn you, I'm not good at anything."

"Of course you are!" Kayano cried. She said it so instantaneously Nagisa was taken aback. "You're kind, you're easy to talk to, and I feel calmer just being around you makes me feel more relaxed, even in this horrible situation.  
Nagisa's eyes widened. The girl was looking at him with such conviction in her golden eyes that the blunette couldn't detect any signs she was just lying to make him feel better.

"Thank you." He said, and he meant it. In that sentence, Kayano had said more positive things to Nagisa than he ever remembered hearing (discounting his mother's assurances that he was a ' _beautiful girl'_ ). She smiled at him, pleased.

"I like it better when you look straight at me like this instead of lowering your gaze to the ground." She said. Kayano seemed to have a sort of maturity about her, she was wise beyond her years.

There was a pleasant moment of silence for a moment, where the two of them just gazed at each other, when all of a sudden, Nagisa felt a cold hand close over his mouth. He let out a muffled cry of panic.

 _Who was it? How did somebody sneak up behind him?_

Then, from the front entrance, he saw a figure run forwards and grab Kayano.  
The green haired girl let out a piercing scream, but was quickly shit up when the assailant put a hand over her mouth.

Nagisa fought against the hands holding him to no avail, opposite him, Kayano was doing the same- Her attacker was a curvy blonde teenage girl who looked European.

A young silver haired man with innocent topaz eyes walked in, smiling calmly as if the scuffle before him wasn't happening. "Now now- What on earth would two little wretches be doing trying to take over our hideout, eh? Looks as if we'll have to teach you a lesson."

* * *

 **The characters have accidentally stumbled into another gangs territory (Can anyone guess who the gang members are?). Also we got to see how the families react to their kids going missing! (Except for Karma's family because they're such good parents they haven't realised their son is missing yet)**

 **Nagisa's issues means he has low self-esteem and is constantly doubting himself (kind of like in the manga, but even worse).**

 **While Karma and Asano turn their feelings of fear/lonliness into anger, and they've started projecting it onto each other, and taking out their frustrations on each other so they're pretty much assholes to each other. But both of them a protective of Nagisa and Kayano (especially Karma).**

 **Kayano deals with her problems by burying them down and acting as if everything is okay. But no matter how good she is at it, she's still just a kid and can't shoulder the world on her shoulders.**

 **As for ages, Kayano is in year 6 (10-11yrs), Nagisa is in year 7 (11-12yrs), Asano is in yr 8 (12-13 yrs), and Karma is in yr 9 (13-14 yrs).**

 **Review for more! Also if you have ideas!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews- Sorry for the wait.**

* * *

When a child goes missing, people tend to blame the strange outsider; Maybe the old homeless man, or the lonely old widow with a facial disfigurement. Rumours and gossip contorts these people's images into that of child-snatching freaks, grotesque evil-doers. They become frightening monsters.

But over the years, Karasuma has come to realise that when something bad happens to a child, it isn't often the outcast who ghosted them away; It's usually those closest to them that are the danger.

And that is the most frightening thing of all, that nobody wants to acknowledge- that most monsters are close to home.

The inspector is reminded of this as he peers through the one-way glass at Kotarō Yanagisawa. A handsome, wealthy young man from a good background with a brilliant career. And a child-killer.

From the blood stains and hairs found in his house and car, it wasn't difficult to conclude that he had beaten Akari to death, dragged her into his car, and drove away somewhere to dump the body.

Karasuma didn't want to believe it, but it seemed like the only logical explanation.

Despite all the evidence and his lack of reliable alibi, Yanagisawa had refused to admit to the murder, even after intense interrogation for hours on end;

"The bitch set me up!" He had hissed, after his cool demeanor finally snapped.

"A child set you up?" The inspector replied coldly.

"Yes, she told me to meet her alone in one of the parks so I'd have no alibi!"

"What is a twenty five year old man doing meeting a preteen girl alone in a park?" Karasuma had asked. Yanisigawa had no answer for that, after that he'd remained silent, refusing to talk until his lawyer arrived.

Karasuma thought of the other two missing children; Nagisa Shiota and Gakushuu Asano. He prayed that their cases wouldn't end with a trail of blood. But he was starting to feel more uneasy the more he learned about their families;

He had no doubt in his mind Hiromei Shiota was both abusive and verging on psychotic... Could she have killed her son in a wild rage and attempted to disguise it as a runaway?

What about Gakushuu? Everyone he had interviewed had admitted the Chairman put excessively high expectations on his son. His classmates had said that after coming third in a test Gakushuu had disappeared from school for two days, he returned looking 'pale and thin' and had been acting distant from then on. Had Gakuhou Asano gone too far with a punishment and accidentally killed his own son?

 _Had these children been living with monsters?_

One of his subordinates hurried over to him, breaking him away from his thoughts. "Sir!" She cried out. "Gakuhou Asano's credit card has been used. We've been able to track it to the exact shop!"

Karasuma's eyes gleamed with determination. "I want my men on there- now!"

* * *

"Don't you think we're taking this too far? I mean, they're just a couple of brats who wondered too far from the playground." The blond girl said, flipping her long wavy hair over her shoulder. She was Caucasian, and had a slight accent that marked her as a foreigner. Her womanly figure made her seem like an adult at first, but on closer inspection she looked around sixteen.

"Even little brats can squeal to their parents if we're not careful~" The silver haired man replied, his warm topaz eyes hiding any evil intention. It was hard to read his age, he was timeless somehow. But the thing that was most concerning was the knife attached to his belt.

The third assailant, a stoic boy Nagisa's age with spiky platinum hair, remained silent, looking at the other two with intense yellow eyes and an unreadable expression.

Nagisa and Kayano were tied back to back on the floor of the mountain hut.

When the three attackers came after them, they didn't have any hope of winning. Kayano hardly had a chance to scream before they'd been captured.

From what Nagisa could tell, they seemed like a gang of delinquents of some sort. Fear bubbled through him. He prayed they were just messing around and they wouldn't really do anything to hurt him and Kayano. _Especially_ not Kayano.

"We wont tell anyone anything, I promise!" Nagisa said, his voice sounding a lot calmer than he felt, his blue eyes fixed on the three assailants.

" _Hmmm_ , so I should just let you go?" The silver haired man mused, still with a benign smile on his face. Suddenly, in one fluid movement he took his knife from his belt with one hand, and grabbed Nagisa by the front of his coat with the other, forcing him to his feet. The boy heard a surprised squeak as Kayano was forced up behind him also.

The man pressed the blade to Nagisa's neck. "People are always so agreeable when they're at someone's mercy. But as soon as they're free they'll go squealing to their parents."

Nagisa stared into those topaz eyes, and sensed the blood-lust radiating off the man. Despite his kind smile, Nagisa had no doubt that this guy could kill without a second thought. He was more than just a delinquent trying to scare them. Even the man's two cronies, the blond foreigner girl and the yellow-eyed boy looked alarmed by their leader.

He felt Kayano grab his hand behind him, and squeeze, she was shaking.

"We wont tell anyone! Because we're runaways, we have nobody to tell!" The green haired girl cried. Nagisa couldn't see her, but she sounded close to tears. The man gave an amused laugh.

"Runaways? Let me guess, your parents wouldn't let you have your own way so you're trying to make them worry." He scoffed, not loosening his grip on Nagisa. "Lets find a way to make them really scared!"

He raised the knife suddenly, with such ease as if it were second nature to him. Nagisa's eyes widened in shock, _how could this be happening? Was he really going to die just like that!?_

It all happened so fast after that; The man's knife sped towards Nagisa's neck with true killing intent, and within that same second, two figures, a blond and a red head burst through the door of the hut from the outside, intending to attack.

The man paused when his blade was mere millimeters from slashing through Nagisa's artery, and quickly turned around, dropping the blue haired boy and grabbing his two attackers by the scruff of the neck just as they were about to grab him.

Karma and Shun had been captured just as quickly as they'd burst in.

The pair of them looked shocked. Nagisa realised they must of been outside, probably waiting for the right moment to attack and try to save them. His heart raced- He really thought he was going to die then.

"I was right when I thought the best way to flush you two out quickly was to threaten your little friend here. I could feel you both watching me." The man said. Despite Shun and Karma's struggles, he seemed to be holding the two of them with ease. "So now I have four little runaways to play with."

"You gave me a heart attack, Shinigami!" The blond girl cried. "I really thought you were going to stab a kid!"

"Eh, as if I'd bother dirtying my blade on such a useless opponent." The man, Shinigami, said. He talked casually, as if in normal conversation, as if he didn't have two youths restrained, attempting the fight against him with all their might. Nagisa realised how powerful this guy must be. "Are you just going to stand there, Miss Bitch, or are you going to fetch the rope for me?"

"I didn't agree to that code-name!" _'Miss Bitch_ ', the foreign girl, snapped as she pulled out a length of rope from the bag. The platinum haired boy watched on silently.

"You damn lowlife! You better let us go before you regret this!" Shun shouted. He was trying to pull Shinigami's hand off, looking increasingly frustrated, but the man didn't bat an eyelid. Karma had stopped trying to fight, but was giving his captor a deadly glare. "I bet you three are just a gang of delinquents trying to be tough! Well if you don't leave us immediately I'll get the police involv- ack!"

His rant was cut off when Shinigami suddenly tightened his grip around Shun's neck. His amethyst eyes widened in shock _(wait,_ Nagisa thought, _weren't they brown?_ ).

Kayano and Nagisa both cried out. "Stop!" But he ignored them.

"I don't think you're in any position to be going to the police, right, Gakushuu Asano, was it?" Shinigami said, with a pleasant smile as he continued to cut off the boy's air supply. The blond made a strangled cry of surprise when that name was mentioned. _That must be his real name,_ Nagisa figured. "Don't look so surprised, I do watch the news you know. So of course, I know you too, Nagisa. The God of death knows all things."

Now it was the blue-haired boy's turn to act shocked, Although he wasn't sure why, the poster was everywhere. Knowing that this dangerous man knew his name made him afraid somehow.

"God of death? You sure are acting high and mighty for someone who's only apparent power seems to be picking on kids. I'm not exactly impressed by your strength." Karma said suddenly, despite being restrained there was a teasing look in his amber eyes, and a challenging grin on his lips. Shinigami sent him an ice-cold smile.

"Fair enough. Would you like me to show you my strength then?" The silver haired man said, rising to the bait. He released his grip on Shun- _No,_ Asano, who collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. Almost instantly, the blonde girl hurried over, and restrained him, tying Asano up before he had a real chance to fight back.

Shinigami now grabbed Karma with both hands, holding him as if he were as light as a rag doll. Then, still with that easy smile on his face, he casually slammed the red haired boy into the wall of the shack.

There was a sickening crack as Karma's head connected with solid object, and the snapping sound of wood splintering.

Kayano and Nagisa gasped in shock, and even Asano looked horrified.

"That was only 10% of my true strength." Shinigami said, still holding Karma, who appeared limp in his grip. For one terrible moment Nagisa thought Karma was knocked-out... Or worse... But then the red haired teen lifted his head up, a trail of blood trickling from his hair-line down his face. There was a dazed look in his amber eyes, but he still managed a death-glare.

"Beating up kids. Still not impressive." Karma said, sounding strained. Shinigami just laughed.

"Eh? I'm actually impressed. You're stronger than I anticipated. The fact you're still conscious is testament to that." The silver haired man said. "Maybe I'll have a use for you after all~"

"Speaking of uses!" The foreigner girl piped up. "What are we using these kids for anyway? I broke a nail tying this little brat up! This better be worth it."

"Now now, there's no need to doubt me." Shinigami said, as he started to tie up Karma. The red haired boy didn't bother trying to resist, knowing he would be unable. "I'll find a use for these children yet. Itona. Miss bitch- let us discuss it outside."

* * *

"They're underestimating us." Karma said, when the four of them were left alone in the shack, tied up, while Shinigami and his crew went outside to _'discuss_ '. "They aren't even standing guard."

"What does he even want with us?" Kayano cried, Nagisa could feel her tugging against the rope behind him. She sounded terrified. "That blonde lady said she wanted to use us for something- what does that mean?"

The blue haired boy wished he could tell her some comforting words ' _I_ _t'll be okay_.' ' _Everything will be fine_ ' but they all felt like such lies on his tongue he couldn't bring himself to. Instead he settled for holding Kayano's hand and squeezing.

"Well. They aren't planning to kill us, or else they already would of." Karma mused out loud. He frowned- even he seemed lost in this situation. "If I had to guess I'd say they were people traffickers."

"So we're going to be sold off or something!" Nagusa exclaimed.

Shun, _no_ , Gakushuu didn't say anything, he was just trying to pull of the ropes that bound him to the beam of the building, a feral look of desperation in his eyes as he even attempted to bite through the rope to no avail.

"You'll pull your teeth out before you pull the rope off." Karma said to him evenly. The red haired boy wasn't even attempting to break free. He could tell the ropes were too tight.

"Shut up!" Gakuhuu snarled, but he sounded more afraid than malicious. His wrists were already raw red from trying to tug them free, and he sounded breathless. "I should of never came back here- should of left while I had the chance."

"It's my fault." Nagisa said, suddenly. "If I had notice the gang sneaking up on us, then you two wouldn't of gotten caught trying to rescue us."

"Cut it with the self-deprication, Nagisa." Karma said, rolling his eyes, but his tone was tender. "Listen. That 'Shinigami' dude or whatever might have skills, but he's overconfident, I can tell. He'll slip up and we'll get away. Simple."

He said it with such easy confidence that Nagisa and Kayano couldn't help but trust him. Even Gakushuu paused for a moment to regard him. Even in a situation like this, with Karma around, things felt a little less dire.

"So." Kayano said suddenly. Her voice still sounded shaky from crying. "Gakushuu Asano- that's your real name, right? And why have your eyes changed colour?"

"Well. I suppose there's no point in denying it." The blond said. He seemed agitated still, but a little less distressed the more he spoke with the others. "My name is Gakushuu Asano and I was wearing contacts earlier. And if you dare tell anybody my whereabouts I'll make you regret it."

"I don't think the kid's in a position to be doing that, Shuu." Karma said, rolling his eyes. He wished he could make a plan of some sort, but when he didn't even know what Shinigami had in mind for them. He closed his eyes in thought, ignoring Asano's indignant cries of ' _What did you just call me!?'_

* * *

"First, we'll have to test if they have the potential to be a useful member of our gang." Shinigami said, shooting a pleasant smile at his subordinates Itona and Irina. "Then, if they pass, we can start training."

Irina and Itona both looked at him skeptically, of course, they knew better than to question their leader.

Shinigami had recruited those two the same way he was currently 'recruiting' the four runaways tied up in the mountain shack. He could tell they were runaways just by looking at them; the huge bags, their disheveled appearance. Nagisa had already been all over the news, and he recognised Gakushuu too, even if his hair was different, Shinigami had an eye for such things. If they'd already left their families, then those hopeless souls were his for the taking.

After his master abandoned him, Shinigami had been left alone. Of course, he had enough skills to survive. Be it robbery, mugging, fraud, he always had a way of making money. But there was only so much one person could do.

That was when he found Irina, she had only been thirteen back then, three years younger than himself. She was a refugee from a war-torn country who had entered Japan illegally. She had been totally vulnerable, alone on the streets, only able to speak a small amount of broken Japanese, and her looks made her a target of perverts. Despite this, she still managed to hold her own, fighting off any attackers, stealing to survive.

Shinigami took her under his wing. At first she was... resistant, but after realising she was no match for him, Irina started to first fear him, then crave the power he had. She ended up as his loyal follower. He had taught her a lot- fighting, Japanese, seduction techniques to trick people, fraud.

Shinigami had found Itona only last year. He was a skinny scrap of a thing, covered in scrapes and bruises, but something about the fire behind his yellow eyes caught Shinigami's interest. The platinum haired boy had been easy to recruit. 'If I beat you in a fight, you must become my follower. If you beat me, I'll give you all my money.'

Of course, as strong as he was, Itona stood no chance. In the end he readily joined Shinigami in order to learn to be powerful.

Children could be stubborn, but show them a little authority and guidance and they were easy to win over. Shinigami wanted to collect more followers and grow his gang even bigger, until his influence pervaded all corners of the underworld. And then, his master would see how much he was really worth.

* * *

"Maybe this is one big joke to them? Maybe they just tied us up here and then left us because they thought it would be funny!" Kayano moaned, after what felt like another hour had passed. It was difficult to judge the passage of time tied up in the hut, especially on a cloudy day like this without the sun to judge it by. It certainly felt like ages anyway, especially when they hadn't had breakfast.

At her words, Gakushuu started trying to pull his arms free with renewed vigour, not seeming to care when the ropes broke the skin. But despite all his struggling, the bonds didn't even loosen.

"No. They're coming back." Karma assured her, seeming far too calm for the situation. "This rope they tied us up with is actually quite an expensive type, so they wouldn't just leave it here for so lame joke, no matter how psycho they are."

"But then why have they just left us here for so long?" Nagisa asked, blue eyes wide with confusion. His throat was dry, he was starting to get thirsty he bet the others felt the same.

"Probably to break us. Isolation and food deprivation is a good way to break someone." Gakushuu said bitterly, not even pausing from trying to break free from the ropes as he spoke.

"You know you're going to break your wrist if you carry on like that." Karma warned, raising an eyebrow at the blond. "I'm not going to help you if you end up with both your arms in casts."

"I wouldn't want you to!" Gakushuu snapped at him, still breathing quickly. Nagisa regarded the blond- he had always seemed easily angered, but not easily frightened, but in this situation, he was definitely the most agitated out of the four of then. It occurred to the blunette that Gakushuu might be claustrophobic.

"Dying your hair and wearing contact lenses was a good idea. I wish I'd had the foresight to think of that." Nagisa said, trying to distract the other. Gakushuu glanced over at him.

"You mean that's your natural colour?" He said, raising an eyebrow without pausing from trying to free himself.

"What? Of course!" Nagisa cried. He knew blue hair was rare, but it wasn't completely unheard of, _right?_

"No way." Karma chuckled. "For a runaway that's pretty conspicuous."

"Like you can talk- Mr bright red hair." Gakushuu said, rolling his eyes at Karma. He appeared more relaxed, if only slightly. The red haired boy just snickered. "Are you going to tell me that's natural too?"

"As a matter of fact it is." Karma said, smugly. "We must be the most technicolor gang of runaways ever. Minus Asano."

Despite the situation, Nagisa and Kayano laughed, even Gakushuu had a slight smile playing on his lips.

"What about you, Kayano?" Nagisa asked. "Is your hair naturally green?"

"No." She sighed. "My hair's naturally black- I tried to dye it blond when I was running away, but I messed the colours up and ended up with green hair!"

The three boy's erupted into laughter. The tension in the room broke. But Kayano froze, feeling a shiver run down her spine- She was glad that Nagisa wasn't looking at her, so he couldn't see the look of horror that flitted on her face for a brief second. Because that story about the hair dye was _true._ That was Akari's story, not Kayano's. She was getting too comfortable around them, especially Nagisa! She was letting her act slip.

That absolutely could not happen. The mask had to stay on. Her plan could have no flaws.

Kayano joined in on the laughter, not letting any of her internal conflict seep through into her actions.

* * *

By the time Shinigami and his followers re-entered the room, the kids were slumped on the floor, their expressions verging on bored.

Children's resistance was so easy to tire out. Just lock them up for a few hours without food or stimulation and they soon become more docile.

Kayano had a pained expression something about needing sugar, and Nagisa looked as if he were in a daze. Karma had his eyes closed, and was so perfectly still one might mistake him as being asleep. Even Gakushuu, who had been the most agitated had finally given up, after all, the body can only stay in panic for so long. He leaned against the wall, blood running down his wrists from trying to pull the ropes off.

"Hello, Children." Shinigami said. As soon as he spoke, it was like a switch was flicked- The kids all sat up suddenly, looking at him, eyes focused. (It was like training dogs). Non of the four spoke, although they looked as though they had a lot to say. The isolation was a good idea. Let them tire themselves out, get used to the idea of being captives, break them a little. "Now. Let's test how useful you can be to me."

* * *

 **Well done to all the reviewers who managed to guess who the attackers are (God of death 2, Irina and Itona). Sorry if the action seemed muddled, they aren't really my forte. I probably wont be writing many of them, but I do need to write them sometimes.**

 **I'm trying to have the runaways develop a sibling-like relationship. They're still just getting to know each other by this stage, but they're already starting to help each other out.**

 **I hope I haven't made them too ooc. I'm most worried about Gakushuu and Kayano. Gakushuu seems ooc in this chapter because he's facing a phobia (being tied up), but he would be a lot better at dealing with other types of dangerous situations. Kayano might seem like more of a cryababy in this compared to the original, but she's a lot younger in this story, and even though she's smart and has a strong resolve, she's still only a kid who gets scared.**

 **Anyway, thank you for all the revies and ideas, they really motivate me! Please keep sending them! (Especially any ideas, even if I don't use them directly, they still inspire me!)**


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